"Growing up, I never really had any music to listen to until I was 15 or so, so I felt like I was playing catch-up obsessively from that point onwards. My parents only really had ten or so albums on repeat, and argued that getting to like these albums was a better idea than buying new music, so I developed an aversion to a lot of it. Abba's Arrival and The Beatles' "A Collection of Oldies" still scare me for this reason, and probably have a little to do with my dislike of well executed pop music. Amongst the collection though, I did find "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison" and "Heijira" by Joni Mitchell, one of which seemed to align thematically with the omnipresent "Straight Outta Compton" & "O.G. Original Gangster" that were in every small kid's walkman in the neighbourhood at the time."

"The real benefit of this situation was having no predetermined idea of what was 'good' or 'bad', I was left to make up my own mind.

For me, that intangible, indescribable feeling of making original sounds has always been the point. Good artistry is not worth compromising for me, so I've always had a separate career and kept music as a hobby/indulgence for my own benefit. That's not to say I don't enjoy a challenge from time to time - I'm happy to provide music for soundtracks, collaborate with other artists, provide polyrhythmic beats to a vague brief, anything that presents an interesting challenge."

How I started

"Around 16 or so, I became obsessed with trying to write songs. My first instrument was the guitar, something I'd been trying to acquire for what felt like years. An unfortunate event led to a fortunate insurance payout, which led to being able to acquire a very cheap electric guitar."

"Now that I finally had one, I obsessively practised several hours each day, teaching myself all I could, but also trying to push the boundaries of what sounds could be made from day one. My main aim was to become good enough that I could jam with other people, but develop technique weird enough that I never lost that childlike enthusiasm for new sounds. So, hours were spent learning scales and modes, experimenting with feedback, harmonics and whatever sound effects could be conjured by using the electronics and whammy bar unconventionally. The way I saw it, there were plenty of people who had been trained far better than me from a young age in a similar manner, so it was a better idea for me to approach it from a different place."

"The next step was teaching myself music theory beyond the instrument I was playing. My brother had keyboards and a drumkit he'd been learning from a younger age, so now that I had the rudiments under my belt, I'd get lost in the garage and play these for as long as I could until they made sense."

"The next step was composing. Not really knowing many people on a similar path, I started dabbling in arranging things electronically using a program called "Impulse Tracker". Being fairly technically literate, this became a second language to me, and soon enough I was making little electronic symphonies and experiments."

"From that point onwards, I kept progressing through singing, playing in bands, doing live sound, mixing, mastering and recording. Street Trolley is the culmination of this experience, trying to apply all of the diverse interests I have at once".